Brendan Joseph O'Malley

Mesothelioma devastates lives. It also devastates families. Going to court against the corporations that cause this devastation is the right thing to do. I’m pleased to be part of Weitz & Luxenberg’s efforts to help mesothelioma patients and their loved ones.

Weitz & Luxenberg attorneys own a reputation as hard-hitting, pull-no-punches courtroom advocates. Many of them built those reputations while working as prosecutors tasked with putting criminals behind bars and making the streets safe. That’s how Brendan J. O’Malley earned his reputation.

Before joining Weitz & Luxenberg in 2015 as an asbestos and mesothelioma attorney, Mr. O’Malley was a Philadelphia assistant district attorney. Specifically, he was assigned to the homicide unit where he handled a heavy caseload of investigations and trials. Many of these involved complex, multi-defendant shootings. He brought to justice serial slayers and — in one instance — the killer of a police officer.

Of the 27 murder cases he tried, 17 resulted in first- or second-degree murder convictions or life-without-parole sentences. In total, he brought 75 jury trials to verdict. Prior to assignment to the homicide unit he was with the team responsible for locking up hardcore career criminals, including armed robbers, assailants, and drug traffickers. Mr. O’Malley first went to work for the city’s district attorney in 2003.

Mr. O’Malley began his career in law as an associate attorney with the Pittsburgh, PA, firm of Thorp Reed & Armstrong. There, he represented commercial lenders. Mr. O’Malley joined Thorp Reed & Armstrong in 2002, the same year he graduated with a juris doctor degree from Temple University School of Law. His academic achievements were impressive: staff editor of the Temple International and Comparative Law Journal; Dean's Honor List, 1999-2000; and distinguished class performance recognition in trial advocacy.

During law school, Mr. O’Malley received a foretaste of the prosecutorial role he would later play by virtue of participating in a clinical studies program that placed him in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and then in the office of the prosecutor for Camden County, NJ.

Mr. O’Malley entered law school after completing undergraduate studies at George Washington University where, in 1998, he earned a bachelor’s degree in international affairs. He distinguished himself as a two-year member of the Dean’s List and as co-captain of the men’s varsity crew team.